Clifford Chance

Clifford Chance advises on Glencore's blockbuster IPO in London and Hong Kong

Leading international law firm Clifford Chance has advised Citi, Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse as joint global coordinators and the underwriting syndicate of banks on global commodities trader Glencore's US$10 billion dual listing in London and Hong Kong.

As official trading began in London today, the front-page headlines were confirmed for the company that now boasts a market capitalisation of US$59.2 billion. The offering is the largest flotation ever in London, and the fifth largest in Hong Kong. The IPO was oversubscribed three-fold in Hong Kong, and Glencore immediately enters the FTSE 100 – only the third company in history to do so.  Official trading begins in Hong Kong tomorrow (25 May).

Clifford Chance teams in London and Hong Kong have worked together to advise the banks on all aspects of the listing,  "This has been a very exciting project for all of us, and we're delighted that Glencore has listed so successfully," said partner Amy Lo, who led the Hong Kong team.

"In addition to the sheer scale of the project, there was the added complexity of simultaneous offerings in London and Hong Kong – the first time that this has been attempted on two major exchanges."

"Few firms could tackle this - the project required two extremely strong IPO teams in each city, capable of working on all aspects of the offerings in unison," said partner Adrian Cartwright, who led the London team.  "We were able to offer the very best corporate and capital markets expertise and experience in both cities, with English, US and Hong Kong legal advice, all in one team."

There are more Hong Kong IPOs ahead for the team.  Following its work on the Glencore debut and the $2 billion IPO of Shanghai Pharma this month, the team is also advising on the upcoming IPOs of global fashion brand Prada and international resources company Resourcehouse.

In Hong Kong, Amy was assisted by associate Oliver Nip, and partner Virginia Lee also assisted. In London, Adrian was assisted by partner John Connolly on US law, and by senior associates Inigo Esteve and Chin Lee.  The team also included Glencore relationship partner and co-head of mining David Lewis.